– Parvez Nadir
The blessed month of Ramadan is drawing near.
It is the month to reap the harvest of reward through the blossoms and fruits of good deeds—rather, one may say, the month of attaining recognition of the One Who grants reward through righteous actions; the month to fill one’s lap from the treasures of mercy and forgiveness and to obtain a decree of salvation from Hell; the month of mediation between humankind and the Noble Qur’an—which is the fountainhead of guidance, the Criterion, the Balance, the Straight Path, and likewise a vast treasure of wisdom; a month that is a means, a source of courage, and a month of hope for sinners; a month that bridges the gaps between rich and poor, fostering empathy, love, and closeness; a month that sets stagnant wealth of the affluent into circulation among orphans, the needy, and the poor, bringing consolation; a month that instills the sense of being one Ummah—a strong Ummah; a month that cultivates collective discipline, coordination, and unity; a month that develops military-like discipline, patience, and steadfastness; a month that carries within it the magnificent history of the decisive Day of Criterion (Yaum ul Furqan) between truth and falsehood; a month entrusted with the manifestation of Islam’s ascendancy and the lowering of the banner of disbelief, displaying the glory of Islam across Arabia; a month of blessings, virtues, and the abundant grace and favors of the Lord of the universe; a month that, through the Night of Decree (Laylat al-Qadr), grants the reward of a thousand nights.
Yes! This is the blessed Ramadan whose arrival is near.
Ramadan – The Month of Piety has countless blessings, hence its up to us to make them count
Alas! How fortunate will be those people who will once again behold the precious moments of this blessed and auspicious month of obligatory fasting and the revelation of the Qur’an; and how many servants of Allah must have passed away who had adorned their eyes with the dream of welcoming this month, but divine decree did not grant them the opportunity, and carrying regret and despair in their hearts, they departed from this world.
Now the question is: if we are granted this magnificent month, how will we welcome it? Have we arranged our daily routines to enter this blessed month—so that during it we make every possible effort to please Allah? Just as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, before the arrival of Ramadan, would gird himself for remembrance and recitation, for obligatory and voluntary prayers, and for fasting; just as he ﷺ would be more open-handed in charity and almsgiving in Ramadan than in other months; just as standing in prayer at night would become more beloved to him ﷺ than other religious and worldly engagements—have we made similar preparations?
Or will this Ramadan, like many before it, be for us like rain that falls upon a rock and brings it no benefit? For the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“There are many who fast yet gain nothing from their fast except hunger and thirst, and many who stand in prayer at night yet gain nothing from their standing except wakefulness.” (Sunan Ibn Mājah, Hadith no. 1690)
Actions performed without awareness yield nothing but fatigue. Hence, another hadith states clearly:
“Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it, Allah has no need of his giving up food and drink.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith no. 1903)
A collective display of piety in the society during Ramadan has no other example in the world
In other words, even if in Ramadan we carefully observe fasting, prayers, supererogatory acts, remembrance and recitation, charity and zakat—yet it turns out that all our deeds are thrown back in our faces by Allah—what misfortune could be greater than this? And what greater cause of our ruin in the Hereafter could there be? For in another hadith, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ also said that ruined is the person who found the month of Ramadan yet did not attain forgiveness.
So remember! On the one hand, we must prepare ourselves in Ramadan to please Allah—and prepare with full consciousness—so that we may attain the intended purpose of Ramadan: the noble qualities of piety and fear of Allah, self-restraint, patience, strength of will, and religious zeal are developed within us.
Regarding Ramadan, we must also remember that it is the month of the Qur’an, and the Qur’an is the charter of life. Therefore, along with recitation, we should strive to understand its features and meanings well, and adopt this practice consistently, so that solutions to every problem across the spheres of life become visible to us in the light of the Qur’an.
As a final appeal, let it also be said that along with confronting the distressed conditions of the Muslim Ummah, we should make special efforts in supplication to set our own order right—particularly to pray for the honor and steadfastness of the brave people of Gaza and for mercy upon the Muslim Ummah of India.
May Allah grant us entry into Ramadan and enable us to value it properly.
Ameen.
“O Allah, keep me safe until Ramadan, keep Ramadan safe for me, and accept it from me with acceptance.”
